Likeably confused

For me this was like meeting someone who I thought was a nice person but a little bit light in the head. It didn't know what it want kind of film it wanted to be. It was not overly funny, thrilling, suspenseful, romantic, interesting, engaging or thought provoking. It did a little of each of those things but none of them very well. It doesn't matter how good the animation is if the story and the characters aren't sure of what they are supposed to be it lacks a degree of appeal.

Rats in the roof

Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm for this film rests in its principle character a rat and his family. We've just had a team of rats playing soccer over our bedroom at night and maybe that hasn't helped endear me to rats. Rat lovers will no doubt disagree with me but I find rats dirty, they pooh and wee everywhere so it's hard for me to accept a rat that wants to be a chief, especially when you see a kitchen full of rats.

French?

This film wanted to have a French feel but some of the accents where really just plain horrible. You may not know but I was born in France and so when you have to endure a whole film of American actors destroying one of the most beautiful languages of the world it's pretty hard to take.

The Kids

My kids said they like the film but I didn't hear them laughing like we did in Flushed Away. Hang on they were rats and I didn't have any trouble with that film, although they weren't cooking meals in restaurant for an infamous food critic. Anyway it’s a safe film for kids.

The message

Maybe I was a bit thick when I watched this film but it seemed to be saying something about being true to yourself rather than trying to live up to people’s expectations; like your family and friends. It was perhaps saying that anyone could cook because it said that add nauseam. There have been a lot of films that encourage us to be who we are rather than conforming to people’s mould for us. Shrek 1 was great for blowing away the whole Disney beautiful princes saved by her night in shining armour fantasy. Over the Hedge touched on this as well in terms of DJ learning to accept and be accepted rather than using his friends. Personally I think that while this can be helpful it will not resolve our innate desire to be accepted and the tendency we have to conform to those around us to get that acceptance.

Our fundamental need

Most movies choose someone who is not special and develops a story about how they either are special or how they become special. In this case it’s a rat that wants to be a cook and a goofy good for not much guy that uses the rat to get ahead. We all want to be special, to have a special purpose for our lives. This is actually a spiritual instinct which is a throw back from when we were created by God in his image to enjoy his acceptance. We nicked off from God and have a deep seated fear of being rejected because we know we are in trouble with God. So the best thing to do is face the music and apologies to God for running away from him. When you are forgiven and accepted by God you don’t have to worry about what people think of you or how they treat you. Life takes on a new flavour, accepting other rather than trying to be accepted.

Rating 1.5 stars

The animation was great but I was looking forward to the end before it came. If you want to stick your kids in front a movie then this one will do that job nicely and safely for you.